Purchase planning process optimization for healthcare retail
About the client
MyScrubs is a company dedicated to importing and commercializing Clinical Uniforms for all areas related to health. The company provides the most innovative clinical uniforms from recognized brands such as Cherokee, Elle, Dickies and are of the best quality.
The company sells approximately 10,000 SKUs due to the complexity of managing colors and sizes; they have about ten stores for selling and an e-commerce channel. About 500 SKUs are added each season.
Challenge
The main challenges of MyScrubs in supply chain operations were:
- Manage a high volume of SKUs due to the necessity of handling models, colors, and sizes.
- Correctly balance the stock assigned to the e-commerce channel along with the stock sent to the stores.
- Visualize a long-term purchasing plan at an aggregate level.
- Link new products with collections from previous seasons to replicate the behavior.
Selection process and criteria
Ease of use and quick implementation were important criteria. In addition, find a platform whose investment is proportional to the size of the company and that can go with us in future growth.
Project
During the implementation process MyScrubs team had training for the use of the product, and they were able to implement the demand and purchase planning process that previously was managed through excel sheets. The use of the system is very intuitive which facilitated the adoption. What positively surprised the team was the report on the exportation of planned orders, which allows the visibility of the entire planning horizon.
“The use of the system is very intuitive which facilitated the adoption”
Outcomes
The Streamline solution helped MyScrubs to carry out purchase planning, with the cycles defined for each type of product and different supplier lead times, practically automatically. Furthermore, it has allowed them to improve the inventory assigned to the e-commerce channel and balance the supply for the different stores.
As a result, the stock of purchases has been reduced avoiding overstock, due to the possibility of incorporating transit and inventory policies. Sales have grown in recent months, and purchases have accompanied this growth optimally.
It has been possible to measure the budget compliance, and there is an improvement of approx. 16% in the general average of all items in the first 6 months. The time invested in the planning process has been reduced from 1-2 days to approximately 1 hour and a half, with greater detail and precision.
“Streamline has been the necessary tool to optimize our planning process and has helped support and drive our growth. These kinds of tools are necessary, especially when growing in sales,” said Andrea Revollo, planning chief of MyScrubs (Chile)
Do you want to test Streamline on your company’s data?
Now available for macOS and Windows.
Further Reading:
- How to deal with supply chain processes during the Coronavirus outbreak
- Why switch from Excel to inventory planning software
- Must-read: Smart Supply Chain Management solutions for business processes optimization
- Cross-Functional Alignment in Supply Chain Planning: A Case Study of Sales and Operations Planning [PDF]
- Demand & Supply Management: Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment
Still relining on manual work in Excel for sales and operations planning (S&OP)?
See what Streamline can do for you
- Achieve optimal 95-99% inventory availability, ensuring you can meet customer demand consistently.
- Attain up to 99% forecast accuracy, getting more reliable planning and decision-making.
- Experience up to a 98% reduction in stockouts, minimizing missed sales opportunities and customer dissatisfaction.
- Cut excess inventory by up to 50%, freeing up valuable capital and storage space.
- Increase margins by 1-5 percentage points, boosting overall profitability.
- Enjoy up to 56 times ROI within one year, with a 100% ROI achievable in the first three months.
- Reduce the time spent on forecasting, planning, and ordering by up to 90%, allowing your team to focus on strategic activities.
